White Collar Christmas
by lookslikeajobforthewinchesters
Summary: 100 words per day on Neal and Peter's Christmas Adventures. One drabble for each day up to (and including) Christmas Day.
1. Italian Roast and Candy Canes

It's the first day of December and Neal Caffrey shows up on Agent Peter Burke's doorstep with a two pound bag of June's Italian roast coffee and a box of gourmet candy canes. He's grinning like a madman, gleeful and mischievous.

He pushes past Peter without a word.

He calls for Elizabeth, who emerges from the kitchen, mug of hot chocolate in hand. Her eyes crinkle with a smile when she sees him.

Neal promptly plops a candy cane into her drink and makes himself at home on the couch.

Peter won't admit it, but he's glad Neal enjoys December.


	2. Secret Santa and Hoarded Coffee

Yesterday's candy canes are gone, but Peter sips his coffee with delight. He takes and extra thermos of it to the office and happily hoards it when the team spies it.

Neal is walking around the office with his hat, a notepad, and a pen. Peter isn't surprised to learn that he's organizing a Secret Santa. He doesn't try to squash Neal's Christmas spirit; he write his name down good-naturedly and hopes he doesn't get his boss.

Neal draws the final name from the hat and laughs gleefully.

Peter looks down at his notepaper and rolls his eyes: _Neal Caffrey_.


	3. Laughing Wives and Smirking Conmen

Peter tells El that he picked Neal's name out of the hat for Secret Santa and she spills her candy cane adorned hot chocolate all down her blouse from laughing.

He's not sure what exactly she means when she tells him _of course_ he picked Neal.

The first day of this gift exchange thing is Friday – every Friday until Christmas. He doesn't know what to make of buying something for Neal, but then the unexpected happens.

Neal shows up on his doorstep with a smirk and Peter just _knows_. He knows what El meant.

Neal set this up. _A test_.


	4. Sneaky Agents and Sneakier Consultants

Now that Peter knows Neal's game, he goes out of his way to pretend like he has no idea.

Except Neal is always there, smirking like an idiot, peering over his shoulder, checking his search history.

Peter tries to get the upper hand with fake internet searches for girly things because maybe Neal will think he's failed.

But then Neal just shows up to work with a bottle of perfume and a romance novel for Peter and he knows his plan has failed.

Neal hands them over with a simple _don't thank me, thank your internet search history_.

And _winks_.


	5. Silver Bells and Turncoat Wives

El loves the perfume Peter brought home in a snit and she's taken to wearing it every day. Neal comes over for lunch on Wednesday and brushes by her to reach for a glass.

He pauses, looks at Peter with a smirk, and leans down to sniff El's neck.

The he lets out the most annoying laugh Peter's ever heard. El giggles, too.

Neal sings Silver Bells all through lunch just to annoy Peter. El barely contains her glee.

Before he heads out the door, he asks Elizabeth: _how do you like the novel?_

Peter shoves him out the door.


	6. Gingerbread G-men and Grinchy Agents

It's Thursday and Neal can barely contain his glee that tomorrow is Friday, Secret Santa Day.

He brings homemade gingerbread men with little FBI badges and Santa hats to the office and shares them joyfully, singing Christmas carols perpetually until Peter puts him on mortgage fraud in the conference room to shut him up.

He feels like a Grinch, but it's only December 6th and Neal cannot check out yet. There's work to do.

At 5 o'clock, he lets his team go. Neal presents him with the last cookies and winks.

He hums all the way down in the elevator.


	7. Italian Ties and Reindeer Anklets

Peter finds the small package on his desk first thing in the morning. He opens it and there is something quintessentially Neal Caffrey inside: a thin, red, expensive-looking Italian tie. He rolls his eyes: any doubt that Neal fixed the Secret Santa flies out the window.

He watches through the glass as Neal pops open the box on his desk and pulls out a hand-painted government-issue tracking anklet with little reindeer all over it.

Neal looks up into Peter's office and laughs his ass off, clasping it onto his other ankle.

He shows it off to everyone in the office.


	8. Christmas Trees and Horrid Sweaters

It's Saturday now and theoretically everyone is spending time with family. Peter, however, is watching Neal and El decorate their tree while he sits on the couch and rolls his eyes.

Neal is wearing the most horrid Christmas sweater of all time and shows no hint of shame.

El tells him that dancing snowmen are his colour, to which Neal replies_ I like to think so_.

Peter thinks the tree will probably die before Christmas, but Neal insists he'll be over every day to water it. He says sugar is key.

El kisses Neal's cheek and says _see you tomorrow_.


	9. Happy Angels and Holiday Invites

Neal does, in fact, show up the next day.

He brings more candy canes and a large, ornate angel. He tells Peter it's the one Ellen put on their tree when he was little. He says he hasn't used it in a long time, but Peter and El should have it because it's a happy angel.

El lets him stand on a chair and attach it to the top of the tree.

Neal gets a little teary-eyed when he looks at it, but Peter lets him pretend he doesn't.

Neal leaves. Peter tells El that Neal is coming for Christmas.


	10. Candy Cane Pens and Christmas Plans

On Monday morning, the whole office discovers all their pens have magically turned into candy canes.

Neal pretends like this is a big surprise, but grins through the whole day as people suck on candy canes and generally don't care that they don't have any pens.

Nobody comments on how Neal seems to have the only pens in the office.

Peter tells Neal that he's invited to Christmas. He's going to sleep over and everything.

Neal smiles like a little kid and asks if he can do the stockings.

As Neal starts planning, Peter knows he made the right call.


	11. Starbucks Runs and Office Cheer

Tuesday morning means it's Peter's day to buy coffee. Neal cuts in front of him in line at Starbucks and orders twenty peppermint hot chocolates with candy cane bits.

He makes Peter carry most of them to the office.

The elevator smells like Christmas threw up in there, but Neal is in his element.

The entire office sees Neal arrive and they light up – these days, Neal makes everyone so happy he's basically Santa Claus. Peter doesn't deny him his moments of glory anymore – Neal is just too excited for Christmas to squash it.

So he drinks his hot chocolate.


	12. Office Trains and Cranberry Sauce

Neal has decorated his desk and it looks like the North Pole. There is a train set and everything.

It's a little weird, but even Hughes' has decided that Neal's Christmas spirit is not to be tampered with.

Also, Peter's pretty sure he's using it to get girls – every female in the office has stopped by to watch the damn train set today.

Neal tells him that's not true (even though he smirks).

Neal asks Peter if he wants cranberry jelly or sauce to go with Christmas dinner. Peter still thinks it's nice that Neal loves Christmas. Makes him smile.


	13. Up a Ladder and Holiday Kids

Neal and Elizabeth enlist Peter to put up the lights on Thursday night. So he spends two hours up a ladder in the freezing cold, but seeing Neal and El's faces pink with cold and smiles makes it worth it.

Even though Neal makes him go back up because a single bulb died.

They drink hot chocolate (Neal seems to have abandoned coffee for the Christmas season) and Neal brought cookies.

Peter thinks it's not all that bad having a 'kid' for the holidays - especially one that can make cookies like this.

Maybe he should stop being a Grinch.


	14. NC 'Reproductions' and Wonderful Times

It's Friday again and Neal (because it _is_ Neal) leaves a perfect forgery – or copy, because it says _NC Reproduction _on the bottom – of a beautiful Georgia O'Keefe painting that El loves.

Neal parades his very expensive new paintbrushes around the office and tells everyone how valuable good brushes are.

Hughes tells Peter that providing Caffrey with tools to forge paintings isn't allowed, but smiles when he sees the copy on Peter's desk.

Neal spends all day examining his brushes and singing _It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year_ under his breath.

He smiles all day. Peter does, too.


	15. Baking Boys and Holiday Epiphanies

El catches Neal and Peter singing _Zat You, Santa Claus?_ at the top of their lungs in the kitchen on Saturday afternoon. She snaps a picture of them – they were making Neal's famous cookies, but then Peter got impatient and Neal resorted to violence. Peter is sporting lots of flour and Neal has an egg smashed in his hair.

They sing anyways and Peter thinks he understands Christmas now.

He thinks it means singing and making cookies and putting up lights and drinking hot chocolate with candy canes and laughing.

The thinks it's that, but with people you love.


	16. Christmas Parades and Family Surprises

On Sunday, Peter let's Neal drag he and El to the Santa Claus Parade and stands in the cold for three hours. He admits it is fun when Neal gives him the _I know you're enjoying this, don't lie to_ _me_ look.

After the parade, Peter springs for eggnog. Neal takes the opportunity to tell them about how he did Christmas as a kid. One present before bed Christmas Eve, sneak the stockings before Ellen woke up, pretend to be surprised when she did, and open presents once mom arrived.

It's today that Neal tells Peter he has a sister.


	17. Angry Marshals and Excited Agents

Peter spends all day Monday on the phone with the Marshals. Tracking down 'Danny Brooks' is no small feat. The Marshals are angry that Peter even knows that name.

He explains the situation to higher and higher levels of authority until he asks Hughes to talk to them.

Hughes comes back with a name: Lizzy Brooks. It's a WITSEC alias, but it's enough.

Peter tracks her down to an address in Maine. He tells Hughes he needs the day off tomorrow.

He hasn't felt this excited about Christmas since he was ten.

He has something good to give this year.


	18. Butt Massagers and Lizzy Brooks

It's Tuesday and Peter's been in the Taurus since 5 o'clock in the morning – he thanks the car gods for the butt massager and finally steps out onto the driveway. The house is small, but well-kept.

He knocks on the door and a female Neal Caffrey opens the door. She's beautiful; big blue eyes, dark hair to her waist, and a shit-eating grin. Her face is rounder than Neal's is . And – no, Peter doesn't believe it.

She's wearing a _hat_.

He says hello, tells her he's FBI. She invites him in.

Peter tells her there's someone she should meet.


	19. Psychic Conmen and Christmas Angels

Peter says absolutely nothing to Neal about his whereabouts on Tuesday. He wrote nothing down and cleared the GPS in the Taurus and swore El to secrecy. There's no way he'll find out.

Neal is apparently part psychic because he mows through a stack of gingerbread men and tells Peter about his sister.

She looked just like him and they were each other's only friend. She got transferred in WITSEC when he ran and he's never forgiven himself for not being able to find her.

He tells Peter he hasn't used the Christmas angel because she made it for him.


	20. Dancing Diana and Christmas Eve Plans

Neal is happy again on Thursday because Friday is Secret Santa Day. He bursts into song and teaches Diana to waltz. They spin around the office and Neal dips her low.

He tells her they are going out on Christmas Eve. Peter remembers that Christy moved back to DC and Diana will be alone. He's glad Neal's decided to make her enjoy herself.

He goes back to his laptop and plots Neal's gift for tomorrow.

It doesn't take him long – Neal is fairly easy to buy for.

He calls El and asks her to get it on her way home.


	21. Tickets to Heaven and Let It Snow

Neal actually jumps for joy when he opens his present on Friday. He waves his two tickets to the MOMA and flies across the room to tackle Peter.

He shouts _I know it was you! _and hugs Peter until he can't breathe. Peter hugs Neal back just as tightly because Neal bought him season tickets to the Yankees games.

Neal declares that he's taking El as soon as the holidays are over and Peter lets him plot the occasion.

Neal is so happy that he takes Diana for another spin around the office, to the tune of _Let It Snow_.


	22. Piles of Presents and Christmases Past

It's the 21st and Neal shows up at the crack of dawn with a handcart piled with presents. El stares at them like _Neal, you didn't have to…_Peter just rolls his eyes and jerks his thumb toward the tree. Neal piles them in sections – one for El, one for Peter, and a single present on its own.

The edges of the wrapping are worn. Neal sets it down carefully. Peter says nothing about it.

They pretend to eat El's mother's fruitcake and actually sneak slices of El's Christmas cherry bread.

El tells stories of Christmases past; Neal snorts with laughter.


	23. Felt Rudolph and Childlike Awe

It's the Sunday before Christmas and Neal inexplicably drags Peter and El to church stating that Ellen used to take them every year. Peter shrugs and gets it over with.

After church, they go the Peter's place and get wasted on eggnog and corkscrew-less wine while watching the felt Rudolph movie from before they were born.

They are then so disgracefully drunk that Neal sleeps in the guestroom after a feast of thumbprint cookies and jam.

When Peter gets up in the night for a drink, he's not surprised to find Neal sitting downstairs on the floor watching the tree.


	24. Tacky PJs and The Night Before

Neal is out with Diana on Christmas Eve and Peter and El enjoy a little time alone. They make love on the couch in the glow of the Christmas tree and hope Neal never finds out they defiled Christmas.

Neal returns with a bag full of overnight things. He immediately changes into a ridiculous red and green plaid flannel pajama set. Peter resists a joke about elves.

Neal sits them down around the tree with hot chocolate and candy canes. He reads them a battered copy of '_Twas the Night Before Christmas_ before he finally lets them go to bed.


	25. Sister Surprise and Conmen Overcome

Christmas morning, Neal wakes them early with stockings. They open presents, except the worn one to the side. Neal is overwhelmed with receiving gifts, but he can't hide his smile.

At four, the doorbell rings. Peter sends Neal to answer it. Neal opens the door to reveal his sister. He breathes _Meg_ and hugs her so hard neither can breathe. They stay still so long Peter fears they've frozen there.

He pulls away at last and Peter sees Neal break down into tears for the first time.

He hands his sister the worn present.

To Peter, he whispers _thank you_.

* * *

So...Merry Christmas to everyone! This fic has officially been dedicated to Devoregirl, who apparently loves Matty B as much as I do. :-)


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